Repairing resin: I use super glue gel. (I like the gel because it doesn't run - and I don't end up with my fingers glued together!!)

Patty Johnson

Nail Polish Use: This weekend I was working on a Mary Englebreight project and I painted several teapots in this style. These were the new resin teapots I purchased at National this summer. They were painted with standard acrylic paint and looked great. I was instructed to spray them with a gloss varnish for finishing. Being Sunday evening and not having any gloss varnish on hand, I painted them over with clear nail polish. They turned out just great, they look like porcelain teapots. Now being a Monday morning quarterback, I am wondering if in the future I will pay a price for using this. Does anyone in the group have any longterm experience with using nail polish

Lynne Summerhays

Clamps: here is the page for those into clamps, like us: http://www.americanwoodworker.com/200204/workshop_tips/

David

Lead and Pewter FACTS:

As one of the first people to respond to Kris' question regarding sanding her new lead miniatures prior to painting, I have watched with great interest the many posts regarding lead, and recently pewter. This issue is too important for me not to post one more time. The following information is fact, based on research of accepted scientific material.

1. Lead *CAN* be absorbed through the skin. While pure, metallic lead and its inorganic compounds are absorbed in only negligible amounts, the organic compounds of lead are *readily* absorbed through intact skin.
2. Exposure to lead through inhalation and ingestion (for instance, breathing the fine dust created when sanding an object made of lead, or eating something or touching the mouth while the hands have that lead dust on them) are considered the two most dangerous forms of exposure. Its a lot easier to get a dangerous dose this way.
3. Pewter rarely contains lead - but it *can*. A worldwide standard exists for pewter that requires it be at least 90% tin. Unfortunately, that's where the standard ends. The other 10% can be any metal. Most manufacturers of pewter today recognize the lead hazard, and few use the metal in their products. Most pewter is composed of about 90 to 97% tin, with the remainder being copper, antimony, and/or bismuth.
4. There are many other metal alloys in common use for making the miniatures we all love. Micro-Mark, for example, offers several different low temperature casting alloys, some of which contain lead, and some of which don't.

These are not my opinions, or personal experiences, or anecdotes. These are the scientific and medical facts. Again, I'm not trying to be an alarmist. You can work with lead safely if you have the need. Always wear gloves and a high quality respirator (and I'm not talking about one of those cheap paper dust masks). Minimize dust as much as possible, for example by shaving the flash off with a craft knife instead of sanding or filing. Thoroughly clean the work area immediately and dispose of any waste material safely. Wash your hands well (Yes, even though you were wearing gloves). And no matter how well you heed these guidelines, never, ever let anyone, especially a child, "play" with these items. They should be considered in the same "adults only" category as any other hazardous item, and treated with appropriate care.

So, now that you know, you can ask your dealer what metal is used to make the items they are selling. If they don't know, assume that there *might* be some lead in the item. Try to avoid lead if you can. Better yet, let SSers lead the effort to educate dealers to only sell lead free metal miniatures. Let's face it. Minis and kids just go too naturally together. Its too easy to have a tragic accident, as related by some of our fellows SSers recently.

Dave

lead tester kit: When I was making porcelain dolls and ordering supplies from a ceramic company I bought a lead tester kit. It was just a liquid that would change color when placed on the object if it had lead in the glaze or contained lead. I wanted to use it on old dishes to see if they might leach out lead when acidic foods were put in them. I also had bought a number of old china paints and wanted to know which ones contained lead. Might be useful if you have some mini items you are not sure about and are planning to give them to a young child. http://www.flash.net/~shriver/hazkits.htm has an inexpensive lead tester kit.

Jean Day

"Strapping"down the Dremel: I hope by "strapping down"the Dremel you mean to hold it securely so you have two hands free. I will assume that is your intention. I have done this. The method I used is as follows;

I obtained a piece of channel metal; the channel wide enough for the Dremel to rest in but still sit higher then the edges of the channel. I clamped it in place with a steel hose clamp. Then the channel was C clamped to the work bench. I had two hand free after that. I hope this is what you intended.

Drbob...Delray Beach FL.

Glue gun: the glue sticks for glue guns come in at least two heat ranges. That may be why results vary from person to person. A hot store window or a hot car will melt the glue of even the higher heat range glue sticks, I have watched it happen. If you still have the choice, why take the chance?

Barb Jones

Nail Polish Use: Lynn asks if there will be problems with using clear nail polish as varnish on her teapots. I can't answer definitely but a commercial dollmaker I know used to coat the lips of her finished dolls with it to give them the gloss she wanted. I would assume that no problems resulted since she shared the information with me

Susan at the white Rabbits House

Nail Polish Use: My understanding is that nail polish will eventually yellow. Plus, it is not made for long-term use. IMO, seems like it would be better to use a product that wasn't specifically formulated for temporary usage to varnish something, just in case, if one wanted it to look good for a long time

Lynette in WNC

Nail Polish Use: I thought I would add my $0.02 to the pot. I have used colorless nail polish as a lacquer finish on some bowls I made from bakers clay and they shine like real varnish. The nail polish went on top of acrylic paint. No problems

Dr Bob Delrat Beach, FL